After the Florida school shooting that shook the nation in recent weeks, Summit Hill District 161 is looking to ensure the community that safety is a priority.
At a recent meeting of Board of Education, Superintendent Barb Rains said the District’s administration intends to hold its annual Safe Schools meeting March 23 at the Mary Drew Administration Office for all area first responders.
“After the horrific tragedy in Florida, a couple of parents reached out, and they said, ‘Hey, can you take a look at this protocol, or could you take a look at that protocol?’” Rains said. “We’ve included them on our meeting agenda to bring forward to our first responders.”
The administration will meet ahead of time to bring forward any additional items than those already placed on the current agenda.
Rains said typically, this is a very intense meeting with the first responders from all of the different communities.
“[We’ll do] follow-ups as soon as the meeting is completed … actually as part of [our] protocol, too,” she said.
Technology infrastructure equipment approved
Also at the meeting, officials passed a measure enabling the District to commit $62,356.86 toward technology infrastructure equipment for the 2018-2019 school year.
The District is seeking to pay for some items through the Erate program, an opportunity made possible through the Federal Communications Commission. Board action was taken at the time because of the process they must follow to obtain the discount of 40 percent.
Officials approved the purchase of 18 Aruba 48 Port Power Over Ethernet switches, which are to support wireless access points, the camera system and new phone system.
The equipment will not be purchased from CDW-G until July, and funds are to be budgeted in Summit Hill District 161’s 2018-2019 budget, which has yet to be presented and approved by the Board of Education.
Round it up
A brief recap of action and discussion Feb. 28 at a regular meeting of the Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education:
A motion was passed to authorize Summit Hill Junior High School’s grade eight Washington D.C. Trip, which is slated for April 12, 2019, through April 14, 2019.
A motion was passed to approve Summit Hill Junior High School’s band trip to Springfield, which is scheduled for March 29, 2019, through March 30, 2019.
A motion was passed to authorize a payment of $36,025 for Northwest Evaluation Association MAP testing for the 2018-2019 academic year.